19 Secrets Olive Garden Employees Want You To Know

Whether you're obsessed with Olive Garden for its Zuppa Toscana soup or the unlimited breadsticks, we understand. And we're here to, um, make your addiction worse. (Because, really, what's better than stuffing your face with pasta and drinking wine with all your favorite people?) With these little-known facts, you can spread your love for OG — and then tell all your friends they need to make reservations for their birthdays, if only so you can gorge on tiramisu.

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1. The Chain Breaks One Major Pasta-Cooking Rule.

If you don't salt boiling water when you cook noodles, you're in pretty prominent company: Olive Garden doesn't either. It skips the seasoning to maintain a longer warranty on its pots, Business Insider reports.

Apparently, though, guests don't mind the lack of salt — the company just reported its best quarterly sales in years.

2. The soups are made fresh every morning.

"All of Olive Garden's signature soups — Pasta e Fagioli, Chicken & Gnocchi, Zuppa Toscana, and Minestrone — are made by hand and from scratch every morning using fresh, whole ingredients such as kale, peppers, and squash," a representative for OG told Popsugar.

3. Olive Garden got its start in 1982 in Orlando, FL.

Seven years later there were already 145 locations and it quickly matched the success of its sister restaurant, Red Lobster. Today, the chain includes more than 800 restaurants and upwards of 96,000 employees. Every year it brings in $3.8 billion in sales. Talk about fast growth!

4. Its logo has changed five times.

And you'd hardly recognize the original, which — in all honesty — looks like the cursive font you'd find on a greeting card. But it was the '80s so we understand.

The cards that grant you unlimited plates of Italian noodles over the course of two months are so highly coveted that some have resold for $900 a piece on eBay. (Yeah, we wish we were kidding.)

Facebook / Olive Garden

6. The breadsticks make even better pizzas.

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And crostini, too. After the winner of MasterChef Junior thought up creative uses for what's arguably the restaurant's customer favorite item, the garlicky breadstick was reimagined as crostini for meatballs and crust for pepperoni pizza.

8. The menu includes centuries-old Italian street snacks.

The new piadina looks like a red-sauced take on the quesadilla, but it's actually a supremely authentic and traditional sandwich served and eaten often in Italy. So stick that to all your friends who say Olive Garden serves "faux-talian" fare.

And yes, breadsticks are included. If you order at least $125 worth of grub, you can get catering-style to-go orders for your birthday — or your next Wine Wednesday, we're not judging. The packages include lasagna, chicken Parmigiana, and chicken marsala combos and the service is available at all U.S. and Canada locations.

At the Times Square location, tables could be reserved for $400 per person. While that price tag is quite heavy, it does include three floors to dance your way through to the tunes of a DJ from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m.; plus, there's a bottomless buffet and three bars serve free drinks all night.

13. Your server will give you a free dessert (and sing to you) on your birthday.

Olive Garden is one of many restaurants that will help you celebrate your big day with birthday freebies that range from free mozzarella sticks to complimentary brownie sundaes. At OG, all you have to do is join the e-club and then dine there on your special day, when your server will sing "Happy Birthday" to your embarrassment, er, delight.

14. You can get a discount on gift card purchases.

But you have a spend a certain amount. Buy between $500 and $999 and you'll get a 5 percent discount. But opt for $1,000 or more (holy cow) and you'll get 10 percent off the purchase. Check the company's FAQ section for more details on this deal.

Olive Garden

15. Olive Garden offers gluten-free pasta.

We had no idea that the national chain was churning out pasta without wheat. According to the restaurant's site, you can order gluten-free noodles that are imported from Italy and are made with corn and rice flours.

Olive Garden

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16. Employees get an amazing discount.

If you're on staff at Olive Garden, you can take advantage of $1 unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks. You can also order meals before, during, and after your shift at 50 percent off.

17. The restaurant designed a coloring app for kids.

Crayons are cool and everything, but OG totally stepped up its game with a 3D game kids can play while waiting for their meals. First, they color in an app-activiated character page, then bring it to life using the Quiver app.

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18. There's an Olive Garden cooking school in Italy.

Back in 2010, a series of Olive Garden commercials touted a picturesque Tuscan cooking school but critics and fans alike were skeptical of its authenticity. So CNN did some digging and found that the Olive Garden Culinary Institute of Tuscany is the real deal. In fact, since 1999, it's been running authentic Italian cooking lessons for 100 of the chain's best-performing chefs every year for 11 weeks during winter months. (During the rest of year, the property is known as Riserva di Fizzano and operates as a bed and breakfast — and winery. Because duh.)

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